Saga
Spin it again! Live in Munich

Golden Man is a shapeless little dude, or maybe I'm wrong, I wouldn't exactly say shapeless, rather extravagant let's say... some users might even claim he's repellent to look at. The fact is that he is capable of flying because he is equipped with a nice pair of wings, resembling those of a giant dragonfly, four arms, and the lower part of the body very similar to the tail of a huge lobster. A reclusive creature during working time, in the summer holidays, he loves traveling frequently to the United States and Germany, favoring Munich, and sometimes, who knows why, on the same days that coincide with the famous beer festival. Recorded in November 2012, Spin it Again! Live in Munich by Saga is the first live recording of the prolific Canadian band that I even own in the luxurious Blu-Ray Disc format.

<< Miiiiiiii how happy I am, golly!! >> Let's start immediately with a "musical appetizer," the sparkling "Anywhere you Wanna Go." The evocative keyboard notes of Jim Gilmour (lead keyboardist) anticipate the rock-infused song, very catchy but indicative of the dazzling show to come. The "theater" is small but intimate and warm, the loyal fans make themselves heard right away. "Careful Where you Step" is the classic warhorse of the five original misfits from Oakville Ontario, in fact, in this track, the sumptuous sound of Saga is more perceivable than ever, characterized by a technological rock with a progressive imprint, distinguished by massive use of keyboards.

Michael Sadler sings energetically with an anonymous and direct voice, the balding old guy, however, knows his stuff, because he not only proves to be a fine but energetic multi-instrumentalist (he plays keyboards and bass with ease), but he also knows how to be a great entertainer: he socializes, smiles, jokes with the loyal fans, prompting them to sing the choruses first, to the gentle ladies in the audience, then, to the sulking guys. All this turns out to be very unusual for a historic hyper-ultra progressive band, with the "obligatory" airs and graces that, as their renown suggests, imply the most pretentious bon ton from the latter. Better this way, don't you think? Ahahahah because Vituperio can't stand frontmen who don't interact with the audience, am I right Robert Fripp? Or should I talk about the other crap but I'll abstain from revealing the name?

The romantic "The Perfectionist" is definitely my favorite song. Ian Crichton's guitar is softened by a sweet sound (but not too much), almost a magical Space Rock I dare say, hypnotic, dreamy, moving, truly a beautiful song. The overwhelming virtuoso of the six strings, Ian "the dwarf," is a little tiring, come on, his unmistakable scorching solos are frantically repeated in cyclical times as evidenced by the radio-friendly "You're not Alone." Tapping and patterns are executed perfectly without any difficulty. << Awesome!! >>. More restrained his brother Jim, second Sagaian multi-instrumentalist, keyboard player, and bassist when needed as in this case, even without dentures... but objectively speaking his "little moves" performed during the many time changes are really cool, yes yes.

Noteworthy is the impressive instrumental "Corkentellis," once again kick-started by Gilmour, equipped with liquid-cooled bionic fingers that glide over the keys at supersonic speed. Damn brothers, this live holds up to the crudest Speed metal show bursting, leaving aside the issue of all this, perhaps too much, technical skill. These guys rock, gentlemen, the most malicious lovers of Alternative/Indie will whisper to the sky in protest: << they rock, but it's bollocks... >>. You envious people don't know what you're missing, I wonder. We then proceed with a drum solo by the newcomer Mike Thorne, simply a human beast. Finally, I catch my breath a bit with the beautiful ballad "Scratching the Surface" entirely sung by Gilmour's booming voice, a moment of real high emotion was really needed. Furthermore, the song is a true gem, then it's back to hitting hard and well...

One hundred and thirty minutes of pure apotheosis my good men, my ears are still smoking but luckily not the balls... because these are, indeed were, Saga before the official retirement from the scene by all the members of the group, which happened in 2017. After an honorable career composed also of failures and commercial disappointments, twenty-one studio albums released, various collections, and live concerts recorded, forty years spent on the stages of few places in the world, though, the kind old folks wave goodbye to me... but who cares, I already love them.

But where has Golden Man gone? He flew away rotten and tired to a quiet place to enjoy some well-deserved rest.

In the review's introductory image, a photo taken from an imagined scene of the concert that I pretend to have been part of. Damn.

RATING: 4.5/5.